We are still hanging onto our gas guzzlers in order to accommodate our growing family, but we are also looking ahead to a more economical-friendly vehicle as an “about town” car. Our solution is the SmartCar. What is a SmartCar? I thought you’d never ask!
Meet the SmartCar: An ultra-compact, Mercedes-designed, head-turning little vehicle that's been negotiating traffic and squeezing into impossibly tiny spaces in Europe for almost a decade. The petite 8’8” SmartCars are not new; only new to North America. They were originally developed as a joint venture between the Swiss watch company, Swatch, and car-maker Mercedes-Benz (the double entrendre name "smart" is derived from "s" for Swatch, "m" for Mercedes, plus "art"). After Swatch pulled out, smart became a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler.
The 2008 fortwo pure starts at $11,590. The $13,590 fortwo passion coupe adds a panorama roof, alloy wheels, radio with CD player, air conditioning, a three-spoke steering wheel with shift paddles, and power windows as standard equipment. At $16,590, the fortwo passion cabriolet replaces the roof with a retractable hard top. The side roof bars can be removed and stowed in a special compartment in the tailgate for the full open-top experience. All three models come with the same engine and transmission. To read more about the SmartCar's features, such as fuel efficiency and safety, click here.
So, three weeks ago we plunked down our $99 deposit for a Smart Car Cabriolet Passion. The estimated delivery date is eighteen months – as in one and one-half years! We expect the wait to be worth it as gas prices will undoubtedly be on the rise again. I’ll keep you posted…
7 comments:
8 years ago when we went to Europe, the Smart car was everywhere. In fact, I recall the very unique way of storing and displaying the Smart car as it reminded me of my son's Hot Wheels toys. These small, diminutive cars were stored in 5 story buildings with 6 inch spacing between the cars, all on a elevator system. Of course, being from the US, we chuckled at the sizes of these but tiny cars, but the Europeans were already paying more than double for gasoline.
What color did you get?
I'm sure you will be able to sell this baby immediately and make a very nice profit! Go going!
The colors of the SmartCar are rather limited. Some of the brighter colors are too trendy and teeny-bopper for us conservative, mature folks. We selected black. I always wanted a black car but shunned its color becuase of the necessity for frequent washings (something I don't do). But the size of this car makes it easy to loand 'n wash in our dishwasher (just kiddin'). But frequent washings to keep it shiny clean won't be a problem.
Fred and I also saw the little cars in Europe 7-8 years ago. Every time we would see one Mr. Bean would come to mind. He also drives a tiny car. The European's are way ahead of their time in a lot of ways. All of their cars and truck are on a smaller scale. You still have some big ones but not many. They have the hot water heaters that heat water as you use it. They have used them for a long time. You will see them in hotel bathrooms. The low flow toilets are also a big item.
Good luck with your little car. Maybe it will come in early. They are really cute. I am not sure if they will work for a field trip?
that's a long wait - but hopefully worth it! we have lots of these cars here and they are just adorable!
WOW that is a long backorder list for the Smart car. I've seen a few of these tooling around town in the Fox Cities. At first they reminded me of the VW Bug, but now the Bug looks like a "big" car! haha :)
My friend and coworker just got her smart car convertible a few weeks ago. It's adorable, but very, very bright yellow. She loves it and has a blast tooling around town in it. Congrats and can't wait to see it when it arrives in 18 months. Maybe they'll speed up production and you'll get it sooner.
Way to go! I remember seeing them all over Europe but not since. There are a few families who have them around here, they're so darn cute! That wait is crazy! Good job Dad and Deb!
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